'/ ) ./ THE NEW YORKER 21 (j is, in fact, a proof of sound commercial prudence; all the Hays "Don't"s could be condensed into one com- mandment, "Don't hit any- body that can hit back." The hick's reverence for the constable, the justice of the peace, and the parson is a strong feature of the code; one rule, which re- quires directors to back up the law and officials, would have forced the directors to throw their sympathy with Pilate, Nero, and Si- mon Legree; another rule, which forbids any unfavor- able representation of the clergy, would have forced the director to turn the audience against Joan of Arc and in favor of the prelate who burned her. The rustic moralist rears his head again in Rule No. 2 of the section on Sex, which informs the dazed director that "adultery must not be presented attractive- ly;" Paolo and Frances- ca, Tristan and Isolde, Abélard and Héloïse, and all such of- fenders must be made frowsy and ob- jectionable people, proving that sin is a fraud and a bore and wholly unde- serving of the flattering notices it has received. The Hays ordinances have not been literally construed, but the Czar has frequently invoked them to suppress scenes which might act as a red flag to reformers and to certain racial groups. The greatest value of the code has probahly he en that it has forced directors to be subtle in order to evadt:. it. The defeat of crusades for the cen- sorship of the films has been due in part to Hays, with his tact, enthusiasm, religious and political prestige, and to the thoughtful distribution of modest sums among moral leaders. The ma- jor reason for the defeat of the cine- I11a reformers, however, is that re- form energy suddenly exhausted itself at about the time Hays became Czar. Crusades against cigarettes, short skirts, bad books, and rough plays ended in pathetic failures. With the breakdown of prohibition, an anti-re- form wave swept the country, and the task of Hays was considerably light- ened. -ALVA JOHNSTON (This is the first of two articles on Mr. Hays. The second will appear next week.) ii !t - ;, I '''0--. (CW hat are you doing.- Flag- Dall?J) :" " ,; ', . i ; : 1 1 . . factory. It is true that since he took the Czardom eleven years ago, the movies have abolished a vast amount of childish ignorance. One school of thought applauds the enlightenment which Hays has spread, but another school is considerably alarmed. met every new crusade against the films by proclaiming that the new era was about to start. No more impro- pnetles. No more long, lusty kisses. No more carnality. r[he motion pic- tures were about to observe a perpetual I..Ient. To an agitation in 1 927 for federal regulation of the films, Hays responded by announcing the adoption of a code of self-regulation for the industry. The code contains many common-sense in- structions to directors, but essentially it was an attempt to create good taste by Czaristic ukase, and it was not wholly successful. To a renewed agitation for a federal censorship, Hays responded in 1931 with an amended code. The Hays book of law is frequently paraded as an evidence of lofty idealism, and it O N assuming his new position in 1 922, Hays announced that the films were to be purified. He called meetings of church and civic organiza- tions to aid in this program. He form- ed the habit of giving away Hollywood like a souvenir. "The films are yours, not ours," he would tell women's clubs. "The whole industry is yours, not ours," he would tell social workers. This was liberal enough, but still the reformers were not satisfied. Hays